Editorial: Restaurateur known as 'Mama' a model worth emulating

Ninfa Laurenzo: Restaurateur known as 'Mama' a model worth emulating

Published 5:30 am, Tuesday, June 19, 2001

The Chronicle joins the rest of Houston, and beyond, in mourning the passing of one of the city's most famous and inspiring citizens, "Mama" Ninfa Laurenzo.

Laurenzo, who founded Ninfa's restaurants and was credited with expanding the food frontier here by introducing the taco al carbon, died over the weekend of bone cancer. She was 77.

She was a restaurateur, innovator, community leader and role model for the way in which she built a small, family-owned tortilla factory into one of Houston's greatest cultural exports to the wider world. Her restaurant expanded into a multimillion-dollar venture, and the widow with five children became an institution. Laurenzo overcame challenges and family tragedy to build her success, and she was inspiring for what she did with that success to help others.

She underwent a mastectomy for breast cancer about a year ago, and was recognized for her work to increase awareness of breast cancer. She received several honors, including the Arthritis Foundation's Humanitarian Award, Roundtable for Women in Foodservice's Pacesetter Award and the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's Business Recognition Award. Her life was made into a musical by Theater Under The Stars. And she was inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame in 1998.

Her proudest moment, her children said, was in 1984, when then-Vice President George Bush appointed her to be one of five goodwill ambassadors to welcome Pope John Paul II in Puerto Rico.

Ninfa Laurenzo will be remembered for how she turned hard work and talent into a culinary success. She should also be recognized for her recipe for a caring life.